Lengthy Drives/Chases and Sleep Deprivation

[Adam Lucio]

Coming from Chicago and still having to work a normal job usually means marathon drives to the plains for me. Its rare I can leave a full day early and casually make my way out there because I still need to get my hours in at work.

For me the best solution is to at least get a couple hours of sleep before heading out. I tend to leave around 1am for most plains setups as they are 12 hours away. Ill lay down around 9pm and wake up at midnight. I like to drive, and am pretty good behind the wheel, so that brief nap will get me down there. Adrenaline and active chasing keeps me going the rest of the day.

Eating helps me stay awake if I start to get drowsy, doesn't matter what kind of food it is. The extra task of reaching my hand into a bag of chips, chewing, wiping crumbs off myself usually gives my body reason to move and something to focus on so I don't develop tunnel vision and therefore get drowsy while staring at the road. This seems to work best for me.

Talking to people helps a lot too, be it in person, on the phone, CB radio. Obviously this is easier when someone is with you, but at that point you might as well switch drivers.

Perhaps most important though, is you have to enjoy driving. If you don't like being in a car, tunes blasting, living long on hours on the road then youll be miserable and sleepy no matter what you do.

 

[Michael Towers]

When possible I’ll split a marathon into two segments, not so much to minimize the fatigue factor but rather to give myself a better chance to get to the target in time. So when faced with a long distance target my approach is to drive at least 6 hours the evening prior, overnight at a hotel and resume the journey in the morning after getting some decent sleep. I’ve found that on a chase day I don’t need the normal 8 hours to carry me through the day, 5 hours plus the excitement of the chase ahead are more than adequate to keep me sharp.

While I can remember plenty of times I’ve fought fatigue they’ve mostly all been post-chase, I guess the thrill of what possibly lies ahead overcomes any mental weariness while on the way to the storm. Best example was back in 2010, I stayed up late celebrating the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup and got very little sleep before heading out to the target in Colorado. I thought for sure it was a futile endeavor, I’d get tired and have to stop to nap but I made the nearly 1,000 mile trip just fine and found myself under the incredible Last Chance mothership storm with seemingly all the energy in the world rushing through my veins. Very little sleep in the prior 40 hours was no match for the adrenaline provided by that beauty!

So when going to far distant targets I try to break up the trip if possible and get an overnight rest on the road, otherwise do the one day marathon and more likely battle time instead of fatigue. Post-chase depending on how I feel I’ll drive home if I can get there by 2am, otherwise get a nearby hotel or reposition for the next day’s chase. Regardless, if I feel sleepy I won’t fight it, I’ll find the nearest spot to stop and take a rest. It’s not worth the risk to my life or the life of others to drive impaired.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Cheaping out on a hotel room is not worth losing your life over, nor is a job or anything else. If I'm that tired, I'm pulling over and getting a room somewhere and dealing with the consequences later.

With that said, I've done the sleep in a parking lot thing a number of times. A good 2 hour nap will revive me.

I am really grateful I moved to the plains - The long drives back to michigan were killer.

 

[James Wilson]

Monster energy drink to a chase target if I leave early!
Definitely eat well before the chase and unload before hitting the target area.
Cherry Limeades from Sonic are a nice break and they guarantee tornadoes. ;-)

Usually the trill of the chase result and the conversations on the drive back keep me awake.
IF I get tired stopping at a parking lot somewhere for a nap is all I need to keep get going again.

Worse case stop and review video that will get you going again.